During the course of a week, how many times have you, as parents, spoken to your kids about faith in Jesus Christ?
Outside of church and church activities, it’s probably not as high as we’d all want it to be. In this fourth
installment of Sticky Faith, I’ll explore the conversations we should be having with our children about faith and
how to be more opportunistic with those conversations.

Depending on the age of our children, talking to them about faith can be tricky. As children age, we may find it
easier (or harder) to talk to them about Christ. What we do know, more parents that speak to their children about
Christ, tend to have their faith stick to them.

Children will at some point doubt their faith. Questions will arise in their minds that they may not feel comfortable
talking about like, ‘Does God really exist?’, ‘Does God really love me?’ and ‘Is Christianity true and the only way
to God?’ It’s important to understand that convincing them of faith will tend to cause more friction and may backfire.
Giving your opinion, is a different matter.

When talking about tough subjects like the questions above, start with the scriptures. The Bible contains a wealth of
information on every subject that needs to be covered. I also recommend using a modern translation like NET (New
English Translation) or NIV. King James and other variants are fine, but unless you’re a linguist the verses will
take more effort to understand. Don’t be afraid to use other modern books by Christian authors. Sometimes reading
someone’s perspective can be enlightening.

Once the conversation starts, do more listening than talking. If given the opportunity, children like to pour out
their feelings onto their parents. If you have to interrupt, use it to prod further and ask a deeper question.
Children may be reluctant to talk at first; once started it can be an excellent opportunity to share your faith and
experiences with them. And those experiences will strengthen their faith in Christ.